There are basically two types of floor finishes found in the commercial market. The first type is a "high gloss or wet look finish" which, typically, is found on supermarket floors. The high gloss gives a positive visual impression of cleanliness and healthiness. This type of finish requires more effort to maintain in that it must be burnished or polished daily to maintain its high gloss.
The second type of commercial floor finish is a "durable finish" which, typically, is found on floors in office buildings, schools and hospitals. The durable finish does not exhibit as high a gloss so it requires less effort to maintain because it does not have to be burnished on a daily basis.
Dilute floor stripping compositions or specifically formulated burnishing solutions are widely used for polishing commercial floors. Commercial floors are usually composed of vinyl tiles that have been protected with a polyacrylic acid based finish. Dilute strippers or burnishing solutions are often applied to the floor to slightly soften the polyacrylic acid finish before burnishing (high speed polishing). The problem with this approach is that these compositions can contain harsh chemicals that can cause damage and reduce the lifetime of the floor finish if the burnishing solution is overused. Modern polyacrylic finishes contain metal ions as crosslinking agents to strengthen the finish. If a cleaning or burnishing composition containing a harsh chemical(s) is applied to the finish, the metal ions that crosslink the finish can be removed weakening the finish so it is abraded (damaged) rather than polished during the burnishing process.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,096,610 discloses a composition for removing floor finish which contains a solvent, water, and an organosilicon complex.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,342,551 discloses a noncaustic floor finish removal composition containing monoethanolamine citrate, couplers, and solvents. These compositions have a pH of between 8 and 10.
EP 611,214A2 discloses acidic compositions useful for removing floor finishes having a pH of from about 2 to about 5.
It has surprisingly been discovered that compositions utilizing specific surfactants, in combination with other components disclosed hereinafter, are useful as floor cleaners which are substantially free of harsh chemicals and which provide improved burnish response. Such improved burnish response provides floors with a higher level of gloss which is achieved in a shorter period of time with less effort while extending the finish lifetimes versus conventional products.